I grew up in the era of the slide rule and, yes, we also learned how to use an abacus. My first B2B job was selling, among other products, the precursors to today’s small computers. One system that we offered could be programmed using magnetic cards which allowed you to load up to 4 kb of instructions into what was really no more than a sophisticated calculator. Still, it was adequate for the data that we needed to manipulate and, at only $5,000.00, it was a steal!
Today, despite of all of the phenomenal advances in technology, we have what may be an even bigger challenge and it is this same challenge that creates opportunities while simultaneously blocking our ability to access and leverage them. Because we have …[Tweet “Read how Big Data will impact your Social Business!”]
Too much data and not enough juice
If you thought that it may have been hard to wrangle and analyze data 20 or 30 years ago given the amount of processing power that we had at our disposal, guess again. 20 or 30 years ago the average SMB or Midmarket enterprise might need to keep track of calls to their 800 lines as well as product inquiries that would come in as a result of their yellow page ad or a specific print/radio/TV campaign. Of course, as limited as that data might have been, you still had to be able to respond, and adjust where needed, to the results that you were seeing. Since the phone book only came out once a year, you had plenty of time to do so and seemingly even more time to live with what might be your present underperforming initiative.
Not anymore. Business has moved from the leisurely pace of the horse and buggy to what amounts to lighting fast warfare. Campaigns need to be conducted and modified practically instantaneously in order to respond to customer acceptance levels and to the trends that are being identified by the data that is being collected. Not being able to do so is guaranteed to result in a loss of revenues. This data has a new name … Big Data. There is no hidden meaning to this term. It may be the most honest buzzword out there. It’s Data and it’s Big. REALLY BIG!
For Big Data, it’s in the Analytics
It’s not the data, it’s what the data tells us about our business that provides us with the value. I’m a salesperson, and a solopreneur at that, and I’m just not smart enough (personal processing power) to figure out how to access or to analyze this data, I don’t have the computing power that is required to process it, and nor do I have the time to do so. If you are a micro, small, or even medium size business, we may share this challenge in common … “How can we even begin to crunch those numbers in order to arrive at meaningful, and actionable, results?”
People like us need tools that are easy-to-use and that will deliver results in understandable terms! What we do not need is paralysis by attempted analysis. I wrote a little bit about Big Data in a previous article titled “Made with IBM – Big Data for Real People” and now IBM is opening up Watson Analytics (currently in beta) and they are planning on offering this as a freemium service that will be available for all businesses. Even I can type “Watson, what can I do to improve my sales?”
IBM is certainly not the only well-known player in this market. Other recognizable companies include Google, Microsoft, SAP, Amazon, and Oracle. Salesforce is also committing resources in this area. There are many more who are, or will be, competing for their share of your data pie and the marketplace for this segment is still very much evolving. It’s going to be “all hands on deck” and that’s good since we are going to need all of the ships and sailors that we can muster up because …
With Social Business, we now have even more data!
As a social business, you are now leveraging social media as additional sales, customer service, product development, collaboration, and marketing tools. While you might still be using traditional advertising methods (as perhaps you should be), social business creates monstrous amounts of data all on its own. Your data is now being generated from a multitude of sources including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, email marketing, gamification, contests, and your landing pages. This is just a short list.
Suddenly, data is personal, it’s social, and there is a ton more of it. How much data? Let your imagination wander. Social analytics programs like those that are offered by the networks themselves (Twitter has entered into an agreement with IBM regarding the development of their analytics), as well as third-party offerings will help but, they will generally be limited by a much more defined constraint as in … “This is what is happening on Facebook“.
What would happen if we could wrap up all of this personal data from social media along with records of how, when, and what they have purchased historically? This will result in increasing our ability to accurately predict buyer behaviors and actions. The possibilities are, quite literally, mind-boggling.
How might Big Data Analytics (BDA) affect your sales and marketing?
One of the ways that BDA works is by taking your raw data and then analyzing that in order to discover commonalities and trends. For example, let’s say that I have a file that is made up of customers who no longer do business with us. This may be a data export from my CRM. The data might include how long they did business with us, how often they purchased from us, what they purchased, whether or not they were under a contract and for what period of time, as well as other data factors.
What I want to do know is if that data can identify things that these former customers all had in common. Discovering this, I will then be able to identify those clients in my current account base who might share these same characteristics and this will then allow me to formulate a plan to retain them. Makes sense?
Now apply this same methodology to your sales pipeline and your win-loss reports in order to predict which types of deals have the highest percentage chance of closing. If you have been in sales as long as I have been, you can now have a pipeline instead of the customary pipe dream that you may be more accustomed to seeing.
Or, be able to analyze where your customers are coming from. This might include web page visits, social media engagements, newsletter campaigns, or your call center, to name a few. Now use this data to not only evaluate your existing campaigns but also to predict the success of your future marketing initiatives and to be able to adjust your offerings in order to achieve the desired maximum effectiveness.
Being able to identify relevant data, trends, and relationships now gives you the ability to act in a proactive manner (increase sales and prevent losses) rather than a reactive one. That’s powerful stuff! Please tell us if you are excited about Big Data and Social Business and why.
This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM’s Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.
Craig M. Jamieson
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